UpsideNEC's latest widescreen plasma, the 61-inch PX-61XR4, has simplicity as its design mantra. The 16:9 widescreen is surrounded by a black bezel -- it's a similar design to many other flat screens, but its sheer simplicity is still a winner.

Boasting a 1365x768 resolution (good enough for pixel-by-pixel 720p reproduction, but not quite there for true HD), the plasma features other specs such as a 870:1 contrast ratio, 9+9 watts stereo speakers, two HDMI inputs and more. Other inputs include DVI, component, S-Video, RGB and composite. NEC also claims its new range of plasmas have a life-span of 60,000 hours.

DownsideThe NEC PX-61XR4 has specifications which should please most home theatre junkies, but it does have one major drawback - the lack of a built-in tuner. The PX-61XR4 has neither an analog or digital tuner built in, so out of the box it's only a monitor. So even after you pony up AU$16,00 for this whopping 61-inch plasma screen, you will still have to factor in the cost of an external tuner into the price.

OverallThe NEC PX-61XR4 has some impressive specifications, although the lack of a built-in tuner makes it less attractive than other big screen plasmas.